


Nightmares

by Angelily_Viventis



Series: Alan Rickman x Plus-size reader [44]
Category: Alan Rickman - Fandom
Genre: Age Difference, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Domestic Fluff, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Married Life, Nightmares, Older Man/Younger Woman, Parent-Child Relationship, Size Difference
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:53:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelily_Viventis/pseuds/Angelily_Viventis
Summary: The Rickmans are experiencing an evening filled with nightmares.
Relationships: Alan Rickman/Child, Alan Rickman/Original Female Character(s), Alan Rickman/Reader
Series: Alan Rickman x Plus-size reader [44]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1729954
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Please note: these are individual one-shots and function as stand-alone chapters. None of the work in these series follow on each other unless indicated as "Parts".

"Mummmaaa-ah-ah," they hear Alyson's sobs coming from her room across the hall.

"I'll get it," (Y/N) sighs as she throws the covers off of her legs and walks out of their bedroom.

It's the third time since eight-o-clock that Alyson has called for one of them in the midst of her nightmares.

"Why don't you just bring her in here?" Alan calls after her.

She turns around in her tracks, Alyson's loud sobbing now increasing, "No, because then she'll make a habit out of sleeping in our bed," she explains softly.

 _She's right._ If the parenting books are anything to go by, it's best if kids get right back to sleep in their own bed after a nightmare.

_But still, three nightmares in the span of two hours is exhausting. Not only for Alyson but for (Y/N), too._

"I'm here, Bubba," (Y/N) comforts quietly as she sees Alyson in the dark, on her knees on the bed, her arms reaching out to her mother.

(Y/N) picks the four-year-old up in her arms and cradles her as she snuggles into the bed with her.

"Everything's okay. Mumma's right here. Nothing will happen to you when Mumma's here," she keeps whispering as she rocks Alyson back to sleep.

A few sniffles can still be heard from a sleeping Alyson when (Y/N) decides that she'll spend the remainder of the night in Aly's bed to be right there if she has another nightmare.

Alan startles awake again around eleven-thirty when another bone-chilling scream sounds from across the hall. He hears his wife's comforting words again as she puts their toddler back to sleep.

"Christ, how much longer is this going to go on for?" He groans as he switches on the bedside lamp, throwing his arm lazily over his eyes to shield them from the light.

 _What a magnificent feeling it is to feel a small little human being that you love with all your existence, cuddle closely against every curve of your body,_ (Y/N) thinks to herself as she finishes settling Alyson back down.

No amount of words can describe how much she loves this tiny babe of theirs. First of all, she's all squishy and cuddly with two of the most adorable dimples on either side of her cheeks. Secondly, she always smells wonderful - like a fresh, clean baby, her skin baby soft and pudgy. Thirdly, when she's lying in her tiny fluffy footy pajamas, how can a person not want to do anything in this world to protect her?

(Y/N) was about to adjust Paddington when she tugs on his leg and notices how his nose is trapped between Alyson's tiny gnawing teeth.

_What is it that has her so upset tonight?_

She rests her arm under her head as she tries to think back to her nighttime routine earlier.

_Nothing out of the ordinary... We had dinner together as a family. We watched a little telly. What were we watching? Hmmm... Animal Planet. Alan gave her a bath. He tried washing her hair which she was not having at all. Maybe it was that? Well, some of the soap did go in her eyes. No, it will have to be something bigger than that. We read her a bedtime story. Which one was it tonight? Ah yes, green eggs and ham. It couldn't have been that. Then some lullabies and that was that...._

(Y/N) drifts off to sleep, her mind racing in the hopes to find an answer, her body contorted into a crescent moon shape as she protects Alyson.

Alan stands in Alyson's bedroom doorway, his arms crossed over his fitted white t-shirt, the soft yellow glow from their bedroom shining against his back. He yaws quietly, covering his mouth, before walking towards the four-poster princess bed.

He leans down and presses a kiss against (Y/N)'s temple.

_She's a saint._

She stirs slightly awake, groaning softly as she adjusts her position.

"How is she?" He asks in a whisper, adjusting his long flannel pajama bottoms by the thighs before lying down across the bed, where (Y/N)'s feet are.

"Her last nightmare was twenty minutes ago. Not as bad as the previous ones. Why aren't you in bed?" She yawns, blinking away the tears that accompany her yawn.

"I can't sleep when you're not in bed with me," he rests his hand on her ankle.

She gives him a knowing look, "Are you two competing for my attention?"

He snorts before running a hand through Alyson's sandy brown locks.

(Y/N) listens carefully as Alyson's breath hitches three times, a small muffled whimpering leaving her throat.

Both parents look at each other, indicating that they're aware she's about to have a nightmare, but not wanting to intervene just yet as she might just go back to sleep on her own.

"Da-, da-," the muffled words escape past Paddington's nose.

"Think she's dreaming about you," (Y/N) taps Alan on his calf with her ice-cold foot.

She lightly runs her hand through Alyson's hair to assure her daughter of her presence.

Another whimpering, another groan, before Alyson's legs start jerking involuntarily.

"Shh, shh, we're right here, sweetheart. Mummy and Daddy are right here. You're safe," (Y/N) whispers to a still asleep Alyson.

Alan takes the initiative to switch Alyson's nightlight on, casting tiny lit stars across the walls, before he settles down on the bed again.

"I don't want to coddle her too much in case this becomes a habit," (Y/N) states anxiously as she fears Alan might wonder why she's not just waking the child up as her legs still jerk, her breathing increasing rapidly.

"You're doing brilliantly, we'll be here when she needs us," he reassures, knowing fully well that she's second-guessing her parenting capabilities.

A loud wail comes from Alyson as she lifts her cheek off the pillow, her neck damp with sweat, Paddington now dangling from her clenched teeth.

"Mummaaaa," she starts to sob.

Hearing their daughter's gut-wrenching cry is enough to almost bring Alan to tears. He wishes he could make the nightmares stop, and make his baby happy again.

"I'm right here, sweetheart. Right here," (Y/N) rubs Alyson's back softly, trying not to disorient or confuse the child.

Alyson looks through tear-filled eyes around her, finally spotting her mother next to her. She stretches her arms out as she crawls closer, right into her mother's comforting grasp.

"Ooh, Bubba, what is going on tonight, hm?" She rests her chin on top of Alyson's head as the babe clings to her front, her arms wrapped tightly around her mother's neck.

"Daddy?" She muffles against (Y/N)'s neck as her sobs slowly subside.

"I'm right here, my sweet. We've been here the whole time. We're not going anywhere," Alan reassures while squeezing her covered foot.

Her teary eyes stay locked in on her father as (Y/N) continues to rock her. Alyson has now become much calmer, an occasional sniff, and hiccup the only evidence left from her earlier crying.

"Were you having a bad dream, Aly?" (Y/N) asks softly.

Alyson's bottom lip starts to quiver again, her head nodding 'yes'.

"That's okay, remember, we're both here. It's okay to feel scared, it was just a bad dream," Alan reassures again.

"Can you tell us what happened in the bad dream?"

Alyson adjusts herself in her mother's lap, resting the side of her face against her mother's breast as she clutches Paddington against her own chest.

"A big bad man..." she hiccups, "came to the h-house, a-a-and he took Daddy," her words are rushed, her voice teetering on the verge of cracking. "A-and then Daddy went to heaveeeeen," she cries again, clutching at (Y/N)'s pajama top.

_There it is - Alyson's lately been coming home from daycare, asking where people go when they die. (Y/N), being the Christian that she is, explained about the afterlife, and how people go to heaven after they pass away. Alan, on the other hand, being a non-practicing Catholic, has other views and decided best to keep quiet. As a couple, they haven't yet discussed if they will be bringing Alyson up religiously._

"Oh, darling," Alan coos, squeezing her foot again. "Our home is safe, darling, nothing bad can come into it. Mummy and Daddy are here every day and every night, and we make sure to protect you."

"Nothing bad can get to you, we promise."

"Promise, Mumma?" Alyson looks up at her mother with sad chestnut eyes.

"We pinky-promise, sweetheart," both Alan and (Y/N) hold their pinky fingers out to her to seal the deal.

"Now, try and get some sleep okay?"

"No, no, no, Mummy," Alyson says frantically, kicking her feet.

"It-it's okay, Mummy and I will both lie on each side of you," Alan explains calmly, his voice sounding tired as the hour approaches two-o-clock.

"Will that help, Aly-bear? That way nothing bad can get to you, yeah?" (Y/N) asks sweetly.

Alyson nods timidly before both parents settle in on each side of her, Alan resting his large, tubby hand against her stomach.

At first, Alyson tries to fight off the sleep as she blinks profusely. But as she feels both warm bodies of her parents next to her, their love for her radiating off of them, she soon finds herself giving in to sleep as she instead dreams of happy memories in the park with Alan and (Y/N).


End file.
